Audrey steps into a simultaneously twisted and everyday world, and never goes where you expect it to. This quirky, Australian, dark comedy will have you feeling a completely mixed bag of emotions and unable to look away.
The film follows the Lipsick family, none quite happy with their current lot in life, and tensed relationships between them. Mum Ronnie (Jackie van Beek) is desperately clinging to her former Logie-winning glory years in the television limelight, to the extent of pushing her daughter Audrey into acting classes and a performing life that is now out of reach of Ronnie.
Her husband Cormack (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) floats about in his life, unsure of his exact place in the family and in his marriage. The two daughters of the home have their own troubles too: Norah (Hannah Diviney) longs to follow her own interests, such as wheelchair fencing, but struggles by being overshadowed by her sister’s “needs”, which brings us to the titular Audrey (Josephine Blazier), a perfect storm of teenage attitude and snark, adding the fuel to everyone else’s fires.
The starting point of change for all is when Audrey ends up injured and in a coma. The family must adapt to their new life, without the presence of a conscience Audrey. They await the inevitable struggle, grief and hopelessness that this situation would bring, except it never arrives. The rest of the family soon realise they are all thriving and happier than ever without Audrey. After only the briefest of moments to pause and ponder over feelings of guilt about being happy, they all quickly embrace their new lifestyles.
Ronnie sets about impersonating Audrey, so as to not lose her spot at a sought-after acting program, and relishes in being able to get back into her entertainment past. Cormack finds a new version of himself as he explores new connections and his own sexuality. Norah starts her wheelchair fencing, alongside a dance performance, and exploring the ups and downs of being a teen (even if it is with Audrey’s boyfriend).
The film goes on to explore how the family will deal with the possibility of Audrey either reawakening, remaining in a coma, or passing away. If Audrey returns, how much of their new joyous lives are they willing to sacrifice? Will Audrey be a changed person?
The cast all deliver strong performances, especially Van Beek as Ronnie, who artfully captured that energetic, almost crazed look of someone clinging to their youth and former career, and you can almost feel her eye twitch at every opportunity that Audrey scoffs at. Taylor shows Cormack’s journey from being under spoken to more confident easily, and Diviney and Blazier show a true sisterly chemistry between their bickering, eyerolls and teen moodiness. Supporting cast members also provide good performances and had some challenging roles in order to illustrate the kooky world that Audrey is set in.
Directed by Natalie Bailey, Audrey is a (rather toxic!) cocktail of genres, starting out as quirky with more relatable humour, and then transforming into something much more sinister and foreign feeling. It dips its toes into horror, examining family life, comedy, romance, psychological thriller, pursuit of dreams, and more. Screenwriter Lou Sanz’s script throws in unexpected punches of both jokes and unbelievable awfulness from the characters between the everyday lines of dialogue.
The tone of this film is definitely a mixed one, and to fully enjoy Audrey it’s best to let it take you along for the ride. Akin to offbeat films like Little Miss Sunshine, but with a distinctly Australian feel, and darker tone, Audrey contains the potential to become a cult classic favourite amongst audiences.
Audrey is in Australian cinemas now.